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NZ seems to have quite a supply of jungle carbines in need of new barrels these days, I've lost contact with the sense of this one...is there a supply of no5 barrels around these days anywhere, or is the best answer to make no4's do the job?
Hmmm, five and six groove barrels...not to mention two groovers...just the thing for a Greek sniper rifle, a bren barrel?
thanx R
Hey RJ, if you are contemplating rebarrelling your No5, get a readily available 7.62mm barrel and have it machined down to fit. After all, the machining is the same whether its a .303" or a 7.62mm barrel!
They are great little thumpers in 7.62mm and ammo is pretty cheap (?) and readily available too. I machined a 7.62mm L4 Bren barrel down for my friends No5 and it shoots like a dream.
Peter that conversion crossed my mind. I passed on it having gone down that road with a No4 knowing that the No5 action was a lightened version of the No4. So how well would the No5 handle a steady diet of 308. I opted for tha M10 B3 so i didnt have to fiddle with any thing. Cost wise probably similar unless you have all the parts which i didnt.
Or you can be really creative:
I have a No4 Mk2 that had a flogged out barrel.
Solution? Find and fit a nice new Size "0" bolthead. Then, take a pre-loved 7.62mm target rifle barrel; profile, thread, set shoulder and breechface etc..
Using a reamer with removable pilots, chamber as usual but with a .299" pilot, then, run in a throater to ensure Mk7 ball will chamber.
Voila, a .30/303! It shoots very nicely with .30 cal 155gn Palma Match and 168gn Matchking bullets, even with the creative freebore. It also shoots Mk7 ball OK without any signs of excessive pressure, even with .311 projectiles.
About the No4 front sight mounting: When profiling, leave a slight collar proud at the location of the sight base. Ream/bore the sight base to a very close fit to that collar. Ensure sight base is dead square, fix with Super Wick-In Loctite. Drill/ream holes for locating pins (your choice of tapered or roll pins) and away we go. Ignore bayonet lugs unless you are a total masochist.
A No5 barrel job can be tackled in a similar fashion.
:super: